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You read a book and it’s not worthy of a second read, what do you do with it? Pretty simple, add it to your birdie’s cage and let them have a field day with it. It makes a great shredding toy and will keep them busy forever! This same idea goes for phone books. This is cheap, so it’s very affordable for any parrot parent.

I did my first training session for two cockatiels. They wouldn’t step on to the owner’s hands and always wanted to fly away. I spent 20 minutes and had them stepping up to everyone: the mom, 2 young girl kids, the kids’ friends and the older son. It was an amazing experience to see how they went from being afraid and timid towards their own birds to trusting them with just a little bit of encouragement.

I completely enjoyed it and wish I had more clients coming through that I could help have a successful relationship with their bird. I’m just starting to get comfortable in my own skin with training but by me training the client and having them interact with their parrots while getting positive results, definitely gives me a boost of confidence.

If you would like some help with your parrots please contact me. I charge 25 for the hour and in that hour we will quickly cover your parrots’ regular routine, dietary needs, last vet check and any previous medical issues, treats, training sessions and overall history. We will discuss the issue you need to be fixed and from there I’ll do an FA (functional assessment) with you and some suggestions on how we can improve your ABC’s (Antecedent, Behavior, Consequence) to get the desired response.

Parenting Parrots

I purchased Purrain from a breeder in Ajax when she was 2 months old (Sept. 2017). I found this breeder on the Facebook Canadian breeder site. He posted a picture of her and I jumped up right away saying I want her. I didn’t have all the money so I had to do a payment plan and then I had a death in the family which pushed things even further back. I didn’t end up getting her until she was 14 weeks old (Oct. 2017)

baby Purrain, 8 weeks

Name: Purrain

Type of Parrot: Single factor Violet Indian Ringneck

Sex: female

Birth Date: July 2017

Wings Status: Will be fully flighted, her wings were slightly clipped when we got her but they are growing in.

I will be completely honest, I blame clipping of my Galah Cockatoo’s wings to be the cause of her death(Will be a storytime on our Youtube channel). Overall, she felt incomplete as a bird and because she barely had learned how to fledge at that time, she never understood the importance of her wings hence her breaking them every time they grew in. A lot of people clip their birds’ wings and justify it for different reasons, I don’t argue with anyone. I listen and understand their point of view but you know what my thought on it comes down to?!? THEN DON’T GET A BIRD!!

A bird is meant to fly, are you still a bird if you can’t fly?? I think that makes them a chicken or a turkey or a rooster but definitely not a bird…. I will never tell someone they are wrong for clipping but is it not selfish to clip a bird because you can’t take the proper precautions to keep them safe? Wouldn’t it be better to leave them in the pet store or at the breeder’s house so someone who doesn’t have to risk their “winglyhood”, for safety can take them? I’ve heard about many accidents with parrots who have flown away or flew into a fan, etc :(. But couldn’t those have been prevented? Such as making sure windows and doors aren’t opened when the bird is out or by turning off that fan? Maybe I just don’t understand as I’m not in those situations to have to make those type of decision but regardless let’s think about the bird.

Internet Pic

Part of a bird’s anatomy is their wings just like humans, it’s their legs. Let’s say someone broke my legs and said no worries it will fix, it’s only temporary. In that time frame I’m paralyzed, I can’t move like I want to – I am at the beck and call of others. I have to rely on others as I can’t do for myself like I normally would, this is the same for clipped birds. Now some people may say nope! It’s not like that. Clipping wings is more like getting a haircut as it doesn’t hurt the bird and it will grow back. Yes that is all true however it is still temporarily paralyzing them from making the decision to flight or fight.

I have clipped birds but they are only clipped because they came to me that way so I patiently wait it out until their wings grow back in. I used to clip my parrots’ wings all by myself, I have also went to the vet to get it done. I never thought anything more about it until I started watching and observing my birds and realizing how BEAUTIFUL it was to see them spread their wings and fly. I love it! I haven’t clipped my African grey in 4 years and although he barely flies whenever he does, I feel like a proud mommy.

Internet pic

A lot of behavioral issues can arise from having a clipped parrot because of the lack of exercise. Flying is so important to parrots, it’s how they release all that built up energy so if you add flying plus foraging plus training and the perfect diet – YOU CAN ACQUIRE THE PERFECT PET! But without the flying aspect, what exercise can you give a parrot that would release the same amount of exercise that flying for 30 mins a day would help them release? One thing I used to do when Grayson’s wings were clipped is have him come out of the cage, I would hold on to his feet and tell him to flap his wings. He was great at it but it definitely was not releasing the same amount of energy that flying would have.

Once, I clipped Piper’s wings because people said it would make him easier to train and manage. Well let me tell you – I received a MONSTER from that. He went from never biting to always biting. He was miserable being clipped and now that he isn’t clipped anymore, he is back to his normal self. Yes, he flies from me but I understand that is his way of communicating to me to let me know he either had enough or is bored with what I’m doing etc….

There will always be pros and cons to clipping and not clipping your bird’s wings. It truly comes down to a personal preference. Do what’s best for you and for your parrot so you can both enjoy all that life has to offer.

5 yr old Grayson

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I’m a new lorikeet owner and it has been the most challenging experience I could have ever imagined. I believe my experience would have been different if I only had one lorikeet vs. the two. They are very social birds and because I had the two of them together, they didn’t want to love me the way I wanted to be loved. The female, Marlee slowly accepted me and that wasn’t until I put her in a different cage than her brother, but regardless biting me was becoming a bad habit.

Her brother, Rasta was very open to being my friend. He barely bit unless he was in the cage with his sister. When I got them I had them in the same cage but quickly joined an avian forum and asked for advice. They advised me to separate them which I did, things were working out great however they kept flying back and forth to each other every time I took one out of their cage, making training them difficult. So I attempted to put them back together and ended up separating them again because I wasn’t even able to get in the cage to clean it, give them food/water.

I then decided one had to go, so I re-homed Marlee especially since she didn’t do well with me being away for those few months. I’m still very new to the Lorikeet world but I think I’m getting better! I stopped feeding the Harrison’s to Rasta as they have iron storage issues and I didn’t/don’t want anything to happen to Rasta.

I’ve gotten the nips down to a bare minimum – rarely happens now. I found a new food provider who makes his food from scratch and he doesn’t use any preservatives. I’ve learned how to make a puree fruit/vegetable smoothie and I now know what exactly to use for training. I’ve only owned a lorikeet for 13 months however it has been the most mind-boggling experience ever! It really took me back to school and I’m still learning. Every day that goes by I get more and more knowledgeable, I have met so many people who breed lories/lorikeets or who just have different types as pets. People who have different training methods or recipes for their lory food – it’s absolutely a WHOLE NEW WORLD on its own. I can honestly say even though I have so many other parrots, I believe owning a lorikeet has REALLY put some icing on my cake! It has been a rewarding and challenging experience mixed up all in one but I wouldn’t change it for the world!!!!

I wish I could take all the credit here but I can’t. I stole this idea off of Facebook from Patricia Anderson who has a few Quakers and a Blue headed Pionus (They are perfectly trained and so gorgeous to look at). Anyhow I have always been one to believe in foraging as an important aspect for any parrot and recently I realized I spend a lot of money on toys – even more than I thought. Sometimes my toy bills (most of the time) are running me 2 to 300 dollars a shop. So I really wanted to find things I could make myself and wouldn’t break my pocket. So when Patricia posted the foraging cereal box I was all excited because being a family of 5 we go through cereal boxes as often as we change our underwear, hahaha daily.

You see the red thing? It’s the Zip tie I used to attach this to the cage

I have a whole bunch of stuff I bought for foraging but if you are anything like me then you don’t have the creativity behind your belt to do it yourself so I have to steal ideas from others but that’s why they post them online right? To share? Once I get their basic ideas then sometimes ways to “fancy” it up comes to me… Only sometimes though.

So why do I find foraging to be important or why is it very high on my list? BECAUSE in the while food is not just handed to your parrot. They search for their food causing them to release energy and stimulate their brain cells. Now by no means does this mean starve them. I still use my food bowls but I do cover my food bowls with paper every now and then and have them rip through the paper to get to the food. I find the days I do that my house is quiet as a mouse because everyone is busy ripping through the paper for their pellets. Otherwise some mornings I’m crying about wanting more sleep. IT MAKES A DIFFERENCE! I/We can’t provide the wild environment for our parrots but we still need to find ways to keep them stimulated, motivated, entertained and I find that foraging toys do that….

It’s really simple, all I did (Now Patricia may have used different items inside of hers, I didn’t look into all of that) was take my cereal box put some timothy hay at the bottom, wrap up a few almonds into newspaper balls, put a few sheets of regular newspaper over, come nice crinkled purple (my favorite color) paper sticking out at the top and the inside was done. Then I pierced a few holes into a face and had treats sticking out. 2 Sunflower seeds for eyes, an almond for a nose and baby carrots going across to make a smile.

I used a big cereal box but it was for my Indian Ringneck so I should have bought those cereals that are small that come in those packs of 10 and use that size. I think the big cereal boxes are too overwhelming for Ringo, that size is PERFECT for Grayson, my african grey. So far Ringo hasn’t teared apart the box hence why I say the size is too big. But he has removed the carrots, almonds, sunflower seeds and some of the crinkled paper at the top…. Slowly but surely he is getting there.

Oh I attached it to the cage using a zip tie. My parrot shop sells them. I will be doing another one of these for Grayson and I think at the bottom of it I will make a small hole on each side and have a rope going from one end of the bottom to the next and tie a “Top toy” out of each side to make it more pretty with more accessories. I want to make lots of foraging toys and you can find GREAT ideas on Facebook DIY bird toy groups or by going on Pinterest or of course by following me! All you have to do is sign up where it says follow Parenting Parrots and you can go through this journey of toy making with me! I’ll post a YouTube video on making this toy next weekend and I’ll add it here but if you want to make sure you don’t miss that then go to my YouTube channel and Subscribe so you can see all the important videos we post there.

Some people are visual learners vs. being a reader so that’s why I like to cover a video on what I write about here too.

This is BY FAR not what I imagined my life to be. Before I would complain to my “angel” about where I am in life and where I should be but today at 6 am I was lying in my bed (or what I’m using as a bed for now) and was thinking about my blessings.

I had two dreams:
I was going to be a single woman who ran a company. I was the CEO, lived in an upscale condo that was always very clean and I drove the latest Porsche. I had no kids, no pets basically no responsibilities outside of work. I would visit my sisters with their kids and bring gifts but I was to be so posh that they wouldn’t be allowed to touch my “Armani” skirt suits and of course I was the master of the heels game. I had long flowing hair, perfect body size and was wealthy. No issues. Well I can tell you NONE of that came through….. At least not yet hahahaha.

Next dream:
I would get married to an Indian or white man and have some really pretty looking biracial babies(never had a number on how many kids). We would be well-off financially and live in a good size house with that white picket fence, maybe have a dog and still be very content. Well again that didn’t come through….

Reality:
I’m a single mom of 3 kids with my last one (number 4) on the way. I live in a cramped 2 bedroom apartment that has a wish to keep being unorganized 80% of the time. We have a bearded dragon, 2 rabbits and 7 parrots included in our family. I drive a GMC Terrain and a very old Honda Civic. I have yet to find my career and right now I’m on E.I as I had to be put on sick leave. I started this blog hoping I could make it my career path but I don’t even make enough a month off of it to buy a loaf of bread. Worse of all, I lost my support system at the age of 32.

Dreams compared to Reality: Dream one!
I do run a company, I’m a CEO of a company – I’m the owner of “Parenting Parrots“. It may not have enough followers to generate an actual income yet but Rome wasn’t built-in a day. I may not live in an actual condo that is very tidy but I have a roof over my head and I’m teaching these kids to make sure they clean up after themselves so the neatness will come back. I don’t drive a Porsche but my GMC has a rearview backup camera which is very “up to the times” hahaha. I’m not “posh”, I don’t own Armani suits and I hate heels however I don’t think any of that was actually important. My hair is nice in its micro locks and my body size is perfect for me. Financially, I’m not as stable as I would like to be but one day at a time and things will get better.

Dream two Comparison!
I’m not married and I don’t see that in my future and none of my kids are biracial but they are some very beautiful kids (not to boost my own horn). They are intelligent and funny and keep me on my toes. I honestly couldn’t have asked for anything better. I will one day move into a house, I am determined to do that and I don’t need a white picket fence. Instead of a dog I have a house full of wonderful pets that love me and talk to me and push me to continue to do this blog.

My kids

Dreams Can Come True!When I was a little girl, I always wanted a parrot. I wanted my “Polly want a cracker?” I never asked for one because I knew my parents couldn’t afford it and they were not pet people. They believe animals have no business in a house, they need to be kept free. The funny thing is when my dad would take me to his house in Jamaica, they had a BEAUTIFUL Beige colored Dog that stayed in the yard and my dad built his own outside aviary and had all types of birds in there. However they weren’t allowed in the house! HAHAHAHA. So all my life I secretly yearned for a parrot and I completely forgot about that when I got older. It wasn’t until my son started giving problems in school that I was told about getting a pet for him and that’s how Our Journey began. That journey, I spent SO MUCH money on pets, toys, cages etc… Brought me to where I am today, trying to educate others about the beauty, intelligence and joy that parrots can bring to an individual’s life.

This blog will one day gain the followers it needs to become profitable and it will be more than just a blog it will be a place of education, training and EVERYTHING PARROTS! I don’t know how but I took the “Living and Learning with Animals” Course and I GRADUATED!!!! I am so happy and I have now started training people who have issues with their parrots. It’s been a success so far and I’m making connections and I hope more and more people turn to me for advice and PARENTING PARROTS becomes a well-known and trusted name that people can believe in and only have great things to say about it!

You see, if all my negatives didn’t happen or my dreams did come true – I may not be here today talking to you… I may not have come back to my true love and owned my very own parrot flock… I may not have realized that I have such a love for these animals it is completely amazing! And the best part is to see my son right alongside me learning and teaching about parrots when we go to train a family – it warms my heart. I know he will probably not follow in my path of being a parrot trainer but just to see his involvement right now is touching.

If you haven’t already found the button on this page either at the bottom or side that says follow parenting parrots yet then please do and join our growing family because without you “My dreams” can’t continue to come true. Also, sometimes in life, we focus too much on the negative and miss the “Blessings” and positives that are right before our eyes. Take a day out of every week to focus on the good and refresh your soul with your positives and move off of the negatives. Things like this are always easier said than done but trust me if I can do it then so can you! So, let’s do it together!

Quakers (Scientific name is Myiopsitta Monahus) are fun medium-sized parrots (11 – 13 inches) that come in the colors of green, blue, pallid blue and pallid yellow (amongst other colors). Their normal color is green. They are intelligent and a handful if you don’t know how to interact and manage them. I made this list up because anytime someone hears that I have a Quaker parrot their first comment is “OMG, now that’s a squawker! Don’t you find it to be loud?” I feel a lot of parrots get stereotyped wrong and Quakers are one of those that are misunderstood. So here is my list of the top 5 things you need to know about the Quaker parrot.

These are things that every Quaker parent needs to know:

1) Quakers are known to be vocal
– Yes, they are on the list as one of the top 10 talkers however talking is an ability that a bird will either care to do or not. It strictly depends on the individual parrot. Our Quaker, Piper talks a lot however we talk to him a lot so I’m sure that made a difference.
– When we first got Piper he would make noise at the top of his lungs. I thought OMG what did I get myself into? I was certain my neighbors would complain and I was ready to get rid of this noisy bird. So screeching is something this parrot will do – it all depends on if you have the time and patience to train it out of it’s noisy calls. I don’t have that issue with Piper anymore.

2) inquisitive
– They are very curious birds. If you want a bird that wants to know and see everything, you found it. Nothing will get passed a quaker. With that being said, I literally mean nothing, so if you are missing items or can’t find something shiny, don’t be surprised if you find it with your Quaker.
– This also means that they will want to be able to see and be involved in everything, so don’t leave them out.

3) Independent
– Quakers are known to be independent birds. Our Piper has no problem being around us but he isn’t demanding for attention (at least not physical attention). He will play nicely on his play perch and as long as he is near us, he is content. He doesn’t need to be physically on you.
– They have a bit of an attitude to them and they are not afraid to tell you their mind. They are very bold and can be aggressive when needing to make a point. I found when we clipped Piper’s wings is when he became bitey as that was his only defense mechanism. Once his wings grew back, the aggressiveness disappeared.

4) Time consuming
– This I believe goes across the board for all parrots – They need time! However I think a lot of people get so caught up with they need a certain amount of time that if they find they can’t give them that 3 hours a day, they put them up to be re-homed. Quakers would benefit from being out of their cage for minimum 2.5 hours a day however Quality over Quantity comes into play here. If you can only have your Quaker out for an hour one day, that is okay as long as you make that hour count. It’s better you have them actually out for a complete hour with you than have them out for 5 hours and they are just sitting on a perch, bored. When my parrots are out but feel I am not spending any time with them, they fly right back to their cages. A cage is their home, just like your home is your home. Do you go outside every day? As long as you are stimulated at home then you are okay. This is by no means saying it is okay to keep a parrot caged, all I’m saying is if one day a week you are too busy to give your parrot their usual time out of their cage – Don’t panic just make sure you do make the time that you do have together count regardless if it is 10 minutes or 10 hours. Make it count!

5) Training– If you’ve been following my blog (if you don’t follow me, then please do) then you know I’m a big advocate for training parrots. This doesn’t change when it comes to Piper. As a matter of fact, I think Quakers are so much fun to train as they have the drive to learn and can be very enthusiastic about it. There is this article that talks about how the author trained her Quaker parrot to go from being a biter to a painter, so you see training is a very important aspect to possibly all your problems.

I have been so busy with the two full time jobs that this blog, my kids, my own life and my parrids were all neglected! GREAT news though! I promise I’m back for good this time!

You can expect 3 posts a week from me and if you follow us on YouTube – parentingparrots, we post one video a week.

So I need a favor… On my site I don’t have an option to send out a mass email so I am asking all my subscribers/followers – my faithful people to please go to my contact us page and send me a quick message so I can get your email. No, I won’t be filling up your inbox with spam LOL! I actually just want to send out my gift to you which I promised that anyone who followed me would receive something from me and I have finally got it worked out. If I already have your email then you will receive an email from me. If I don’t then please do the above steps so I can get your thank you gift to you.

FYI – I’m starting to do Parrot training/consultations and Parrot sitting. I don’t have it all worked out as yet but if interested just send me a message and I’m sure we can make some arrangements for me to assist you while getting my footing settled!

Thank you guys so much for your patience with me this past year and I hope my knowledge, my parrids and my mistakes will help give you laughs and joys and of course education.

Some days are GREAT days! While others are…. NOT so great! How does one bounce back from a “NOT so great day” when it not only affects you but your little toddlers too?

Today was one of those days for me! So this is my rant! Everything was on schedule, I trained each bird, gave them breakfast, cleaned the house, spent time with each bird and then I don’t know what happened… While I was doing all of that, I was thinking about what I wanted to share with you guys today and what I was going to put up on our youtube channel tomorrow. However it is now 11:45pm and I’m just now sitting down to write to you. I’m sorry. I usually work really hard on my posts and try to make sure I do research and have pictures etc… Today is just NOT one of those days. So not only am I letting you down but I’m letting myself down and my birdies down because I did not do a 2nd training session as I usually do.

When I decided to blog and make videos, it never dawned on me that it would be time consuming. For those who don’t know… IT IS VERY MUCH TIME CONSUMING! If you don’t LOVE what you are writing about or making videos about – IT will be more of a chore then a hobby. For me, it is a split between a hobby and a job because I want to make sure I give you interesting, fun, educational information but at the same time I want it to be professional and consistent. IF this was just my hobby then I would only do it when I had time but for me, “THIS IS MY WHOLE LIFE” so I try to be as consistent as possible. I have a goal, I have a plan and I have a routine that I want to stick to, which makes this harder when I put deadlines on it. Well, I seem to work well under pressure so I guess this works for me.

Today was one of those days that I think about why I write… Does anyone care what lil’ old me has to say? Then I meet people that ask for my help and I smile and feel like “this is why I write“, so others know I’m here! I’m here and I’m not going any where! There are days that I look and my stats say I only had 2 visitors. ONLY 2 visitors!? In a whole 24 hours?? No comments, no likes, no emails, no followers added… Is it a sign that people don’t care about what I have to say? Or do I use it as a push? I use it as a push! Maybe my content isn’t as appealing as I think, maybe I’m missing something in my writing, maybe I need to add some sort of twist… What makes one website get followers added every day while others struggle just to get one or two?? How come some blogs get hundred and thousands of likes and comments while others get none? I, unfortunately do not have the answer to these questions but I will keep pressing on until I figure it out.

Okay, I’m going to go now as I think I’ve ranted enough hahaha plus it’s now after midnight and although the parrots are sleeping, I still have 3 beautiful children that have decided tonight is not the night to follow curfews hahaha. It’s okay, thank God it’s Saturday and tomorrow is another weekend day where I plan to be VERY PRODUCTIVE! One unproductive day a month, I will allow myself so today was it for November… NEVER AGAIN until maybe DECEMBER hahaha.

Although this wasn’t on my original topic and NOTHING like any of my other posts, I hope you still enjoyed it nevertheless. Please feel free to check out my other posts while you are here and DEFINITELY click that add to followers button so you can get updates about my other fun and entertaining topics haha or just do it to make me feel better – that works also….